Canada w17 heads to Azerbaijan for pre-tournament camp
Posted on 12 September 2012 in Women's U-17 Team
On the heels of announcing his Canadian roster, coach Bryan Rosenfeld has flown to Azerbaijan to prepare for the upcoming FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup. The team will have a week of preparation in Baku before officially switching hotels before the commencement of the Azerbaijan 2012 competition. Canada's opening match is Saturday 22 September at the Tofig Bahramov Stadium in Baku.
"We are a hard-working unit," said coach Rosenfeld. "We are very much a team that is focused on meeting objectives and tasks, taking it one match at a time. I also believe, though, that we have some special players that can make a difference in a game."
Rosenfeld recently noted that Canada's Olympic performance has been an inspiration to his youth players. After watching them win bronze at London 2012 in August, some of his U-17 players had the opportunity to meet the Olympic medalists in person in Toronto. The arranged meeting was scheduled before a (men's) FIFA World Cup Qualifiers match at BMO Field on Friday 11 September. More than a dozen players from the Olympic squad met with the U-17 players.
In May, Canada's youth team won a silver medal at the 2012 CONCACAF Women's Under-17 Championship. During the tournament, the U-17 players were inspired by a special video message sent to them in Guatemala by the full national team training in Vancouver.
For the FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup Azerbaijan 2012, Canada's lineup features goalkeepers Maryse Bard-Martel, Taylor Bucklin and Kailen Sheridan, defenders Lindsay Agnew, Kadeisha Buchanan, Madeline Iozzi, Nicole Loncar, Victoria Pickett, Rebecca Pongetti, Aman Shergill and Larisa Staub, and midfielders/forwards Summer Clarke, Jasmin Dhanda, Ashley Lawrence, Jordyn Listro, Elissa Neff, Amandine Pierre-Louis, Emily Pietrangelo, Nichelle Prince, Rebecca Quinn and Valérie Sanderson.
The FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup Azerbaijan 2012 runs 22 September to 13 October. Of the 16 teams competing, eight of them (including Canada) have participated in all three editions of the FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup. This year's competition features players born 1995 or later.
